The White Sox have agreed to their first significant move of the offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $24 million deal with right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman, a source confirmed Tuesday.
With right-hander Michael Kopech moving from the bullpen to the starting rotation, right-hander Ryan Tepera a free agent and righty Craig Kimbrel likely moving out via trade, Graveman fills a need at the back of the bullpen.
The Sox are not expected to announce the deal until after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Graveman, 30, is coming off his best season and was one of the top relievers on the free-agent market after he posted a 1.77 ERA and 0.982 WHIP over 56 innings with the Mariners and Astros in 2021.
In 30 games with the Mariners in 2021, Graveman posted a 0.82 ERA with 10 saves, allowing just 26 baserunners over 33 innings before a July 27 four-player trade to Houston, where he pitched to a 3.13 ERA over 23 regular season games. In nine postseason appearances with the Astros, Graveman gave up two earned runs on seven hits in 11 innings.
A groundball pitcher for his first six major league seasons, four of them with the Athletics, Graveman hiked his average fastball velocity to 96.2 mph this season, an increase of two mph, and raised his strikeout rate to 9.8 per nine innings after averaging 7.2 in 2020.
The defending AL Central champion Sox now have Graveman, left-hander Aaron Bummer and closer Liam Hendriks at the back of their bullpen. Hendriks was named AL Reliever of the Year for the second season in a row.
Kimbrel is an eight-time All-Star who struggled away from his customary closer role after the Sox acquired him in a deal with the Cubs for Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer at the trade deadline. The Sox picked up Kimbrel’s $16 million option for 2022, but general manager Rick Hahn said trading him this offseason is a possibility. The Graveman signing increases the likelihood of a Kimbrel trade even more.
Graveman signed a contract with the Cubs after the 2018 season but did not pitch in the major leagues in 2019 as he was rehabbing after Tommy John surgery.
